Liberty Ark Action Alert: Update on Illinois HB 5776

The Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) has announced that it is reversing its policy and making premises registration voluntary for state fair exhibitors: http://www.sj-r.com/News/stories/28597.asp

This is great news, but it does not end the fight! We still need the Illinois Legislature to pass HB 5776:

1) To stop the IDOA from changing its mind again and making NAIS premises registration – or electronic identification – mandatory in the future;

2) To provide an express right to withdraw, so that the thousands of people who were coerced into registering can get back out.

HB 5776 unanimously passed the House, but has stalled in the Senate. The reason for the delay appears to have nothing to do with NAIS. Many bills, including HB 5776, were amended in the House to remove rulemaking authority from the Governor and agencies, and the Senate has been focused on Senate bills. As best we can tell, no House bills have moved forward in the Senate so far.

For now, the best thing is to contact your own Senator to show that there is continued support for HB 5776. There may not be any action on HB 5776 for some time, or it may move very quickly – the situation is unpredictable at this moment. Stay tuned for updates!

For more information about NAIS and Illinois, go to http://www.libertyark.net/states/il.html

TAKE ACTION:

Current Senate sponsors of HB 5776:
John M. Sullivan,
Dale A. Righter,
Gary Forby,
David Luechtefeld,
Pamela J. Althoff,
Gary G. Dahl,
Deanna Demuzio,
Frank C. Watson,
Christine Radogno.

If your Senator is already a co-sponsor, call and tell them “Thank you.”

If your Senator is not already a co-sponsor, write or call and ask him or her to become one. A faxed letter may be the most effective approach at this time, since it will get there immediately, but still provide a tangible reminder of the constituents’ support for HB 5776. Most office supply or mailing services stores have fax machines available for use. If you don’t have access to a fax machine, send a hard copy letter or call.

SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear Senator ______:

I am writing to ask that you co-sponsor HB 5776. This bill was filed to address the Illinois Department of Agriculture’s requirement that children register in the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) in order to compete in the State Fair. While the IDOA started with just premises registration, the NAIS program ultimately calls for each animal to be tagged (in many cases with electronic identification) and their movements reported to a database.

The IDOA recently announced that it was reversing its policy for this year. While I am relieved by this change, we still need a long-term solution. The Illinois legislature should clearly bar the IDOA from making NAIS mandatory in the future. HB 5776 also is needed because it provides an explicit right to withdraw for the thousands of people who registered due to the IDOA’s unfair policy.

(Add your personal comments about why you are against NAIS and why it is important to you and your community. Below are some talking points that you can use.)

Please co-sponsor HB 5776. I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Name
Address
City, state, zip
Phone
Email if you have it

TALKING POINTS ABOUT NAIS

• It is wrong to use our children to implement a controversial program opposed by many of their parents.
• NAIS is not a good program for Illinois, even beyond the issue of our children.
• NAIS will hurt Illinois’ economy:
• No agency has completed a cost-benefit analysis.
• Costs of the program include the cost of the tags, hardware, software, time and labor
• Many small farmer and ranchers cannot afford these costs
• Service providers (veterinarians, feed stores, auction houses, meat processors, etc.) will be harmed when the farmers and ranchers go out of business.
• Remaining farmers will pass the costs on to consumers, lowering demand for local foods

• Neither the USDA nor the Illinois Agriculture Department has scientific proof that NAIS will improve disease control:
  • It does not address the cause, treatment, or transmission of disease, in domestic or wild animals.
  • It does not significantly improve on current methods for identification and tracking of disease.

• NAIS will not improve food safety
  • USDA itself has stated that this is not a food safety program
  • Contamination of food with e. coli and other bacteria occurs at the slaughterhouse or afterwards, while NAIS will stop before that point.

• NAIS is not necessary for the market. Age-and source-verification is already available through the USDA's Process Verified Program
• NAIS will not protect against terrorism and the technology is flawed
  • The microchips chosen by the state can be cloned, destroyed, or infected with computer viruses, and reprogrammed. Any terrorist or thief can use this.
  • The database of information, created by the state agency and available to USDA, will provide a target for hackers.

• NAIS infringes on people's Constitutional rights, including due process, privacy, and religious freedom.
• NAIS unfairly attacks the rights of pet owners and those who raise animals as food for their family.
• USDA states that NAIS is voluntary at the federal level, so there is no "federal mandate" requiring Illinois to implement this program
• Other states are also rejecting or limiting NAIS, so Illinois will not be disadvantaged by refusing to participate.